US stocks tick up as Fed meeting begins

New York, Dec 13 : US stocks traded higher as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday rose 135.22 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 24,521.25. The S&P 500 added 7.72 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 2,667.71, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 6.93 points, or 0.10 percent, to 6,882.01.

Investors kept a close eye on the Fed's policy meeting, with an updated policy statement set to be released after the conclusion of the meeting on Wednesday. Following the release, Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold her last news conference as the central bank chief.

The Fed is widely expected to deliver its third interest-rate hike for 2017. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, market expectations for a Fed rate hike in December already stood at 100 per cent.

On the economic front, the Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.4 per cent in November, seasonally adjusted, beating market consensus of a 0.3-per cent gain, the US Labor Department reported on Tuesday.

On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index rose 3.1 per cent for the 12 months ended in November, the largest advance since a 3.1-per cent increase for the 12 months ended January 2012.